COP28 President addresses historic first board meeting for Loss and Damage Fund

Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the UAE and President of COP28, today addressed the ‘first meeting of the Board of the Fund to Respond to Losses and Damages’ and called on parties to “advance progress” and achieve “lasting, Urged to provide positive, social-“. Economic Impact” to help those most vulnerable to climate change.

During his address, Al Jaber said reaching an agreement to operate the fund at COP28 was “a major breakthrough for climate progress”, but more needed to be done.

“Let’s make sure we build on that progress with a fully functioning Fund,” said the COP28 President. A fund that is supported at COP29 in Baku, a fund that is distributing funds immediately afterward and a fund that delivers lasting, positive, socio-economic impact for decades to come.

Loss and damage were first placed on the COP agenda in 1991 and “Although it took more than three decades to establish the Fund, climate change has not remained stagnant. Every region of the world is now vulnerable…The impacts of climate change are a clear and present danger to lives and livelihoods everywhere.”

Abdullah Balala, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability and UAE representative on the Board, said, “The parties made history on the first day of COP28 by operationalizing the funding arrangement and fund for loss and damage after 30 years. This outcome reflects global solidarity among all parties to support developing countries that are particularly vulnerable. The Board plays a vital role in delivering this mandate in an ambitious manner. “We must leave this first meeting with a strong foundation and an outcome of which we can all be proud.”

The agreement governing the operation and capitalization of the Fund, which will assist developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, was passed on the first day of COP28 – the first time such a concrete decision was made on the first day. a cop.

A total of US$792 million has been pledged to the loss and damage funding mechanism – of which US$662 million has been pledged to the Fund to date – including US$100 million from the United Arab Emirates.

“That was a good start. This is not enough,” Al Jaber said. “I call on all parties who can come forward with concrete commitments. Let’s strengthen this fund; Let’s make this fund efficient.”

“The Fund must help real people in vulnerable communities recover from climate impacts,” he said. “It must build those communities back better, stronger and more resilient. And this should improve lives and livelihoods in the long term.”

“With the UAE’s consent, the decision on loss and damage was a major breakthrough for climate progress,” Al Jaber declared and “set a new momentum in climate action”, adding that support for loss and damage has been on the COP agenda since 1991. Used to be. ,

Last year’s decision to implement the fund was followed by a series of Transitional Committee meetings for COP28, including Transitional Committee Five, which was held in Abu Dhabi after previous meetings were deadlocked.

Loss and damage are inevitable even if the world meets climate mitigation targets because current levels of warming already significantly impact particularly vulnerable communities. These groups are being affected by extreme weather events such as storms and floods, reduced agricultural productivity and rising sea levels.

The board meeting took place today and was held in Abu Dhabi. Board members represent diverse countries and experiences with the impact of climate change. Board members include representatives from developed countries, Asian-Pacific, African, Latin American and Caribbean states, small island developing states, and least developed countries.